Her Only Choice
by xxjointherocksxx
Summary: Hermione is forced to save Draco Malfoy's life. Then, Professor McGonagall tells her that she must let Draco know what she did. Threeshot. Rated safely. DMHG. Review Please! New Penname Formerly HPstar
1. Saved

**Disclaimer: I own nothing from Harry Potter. Deal with it people. **

**A/N: This is a short little ficlet. A three-shot that I came up with randomly. Hope you like it. **

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"Ron! Ron! You forgot your owl- again!" Hermione yelled at Ron, as the train to Hogwarts sped up.

Ron grumbled but came and took Pig. "When will Mum realize that I just don't want him? I'm _trying_ to forget him at home."

Hermione shook her head, and walked into their compartment with her red-haired friend.

"Hi Hermione," said Ginny to her left.

"Hey, what's up?" she asked, sitting down.

"Not much, really. Ron, see Mum got Pigwidgeon back to you."

Ron grumbled, but didn't say anything.

Suddenly, in the halls, there were screams. Harry stood up first, followed by Hermione, and Ginny. They all had their wands out.

Harry slid the compartment door open, and it was a mess outside. Obviously, some kind of a fight was going on.

"Move, Harry! Let's go!" Hermione said, prodding him in the back. "Harry, I'm Head Girl, I need to stop this!"

Harry nodded slowly, transfixed on the spot, staring at the fight. Then he snapped, and walked briskly into the crowd that was surrounding to boys.

"ALL RIGHT!" Hermione shouted, getting the crowd's attention. "Back to your compartments, all of you. Sorry, we need to sort this out. Move along folks, move along. Thank you, thank you."

Slowly, the crowd thinned, but the fighting didn't stop. Hermione looked upon it, disgusted. She saw flashes of green and yellow. Together, Harry and Hermione managed to pull off, shockingly, Justin Finch-Fletchy from an unconscious Slytherin.

"Lemme go! I- wasn't- finished- yet!" Justin yelled, fighting against Harry.

"Hermione… is… is he, um, okay?" Harry asked, nodding towards the Slytherin.

"I- I'm not sure…" Hermione said, stepping around the boy carefully.

The Slytherin was on his stomach, and he wasn't breathing. Hermione's pulse, already racing, quickened.

"Justin," she asked, turning to face him, "did you kill him?"

Justin looked triumphant. "Hope I did," he said breathlessly. "Made fun of me for being a Muggleborn, see. Thought he should just pay for it- once and for all. He's been doin' it ever since 2nd year, when I got Petrified, remember, doncha?"

Hermione looked at him with a mix between pity, and disgust. Slytherin or no Slytherin, he had done horrible damage.

She held her breath as she turned him over. She gasped when she saw who it was. It came as no surprise, it was Malfoy.

Instantly she was torn. This was her arch-enemy, who had tormented her since they day they made eye-contact. On the other hand, she was Head Girl, and she probably should help him, because it was her duty.

"Well?" Harry asked, now holding back Justin with the tip of his wand. "What do you do?"

"Me?" she squeaked. "Well… it was a Muggle type inflicted wound- meaning it was non-magically inflicted, Justin," she said when he opened his mouth to say something. "But… other than CPR, I can't think of what to do…" she trailed off staring at the unconscious body of Malfoy.

"Well then, for God's sake do CPR, Hermione!" Harry yelled, throwing his free hand in the air.

"I don't know how… or have a license or…" she said, wringing her hands in despair.

"HERMIONE! THIS IS THE MAGICAL WORLD! FOR THE LOVE OF GOD JUST PERFORM CPR!!!" Harry bellowed.

"Okay… okay… I'll try," she said, placing her hands awkwardly on his chest.

* * *

An hour later, Draco was conscious, but had no earthly idea it was Hermione who had done it for him. He was still weak and he was laying in the Head's compartment with Hermione and a very green looking Anthony Goldstein- the Head Boy. Harry had sent Hedwig (Ron refused point blank to use Pig) ahead to let Professor McGonagall know. 

"Erm… Hermione… is he going to be okay?" Anthony asked. Hermione didn't say anything. "Is he?" he asked again.

"He'll live," said Hermione shortly.

"Heard it was you who performed… PCR or something like that…" said Anthony breathlessly.

"CPR," Hermione corrected, "and yeah. That was me."

"Wow… and on Malfoy to boot. I mean, it was bad enough it was a Slytherin… but it had to be on Malfoy and…"

"Yeah, I get it," she said, cutting across his words. She really just wanted to get to Hogwarts so she could escape Malfoy.

"Sorry…" said Anthony, looking down.

"It's not your fault," said Hermione, apologetically. "I just… I dunno. I feel weird." She stood up and looked out the window at the passing world.

Anthony looked at her sympathetically. "It's probably because it was Malfoy. I mean, you've been enemies since the minute he looked at you. And now… well… you're…"

"Connected," Hermione finished sourly, not withdrawing her gaze from the window.

"Yeah…" said Anthony quietly, "connected."

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Within 45 minutes, the train pulled up to Hogwarts. Hermione helped Madam Pompfrey get Malfoy to a horse-less carriage before finding Harry, Ron and Ginny at their carriage.

"These horse things…" said Harry, eyeing them with great distaste, "no matter how long you've been able to see them- they're still weird."

Ron laughed, but Hermione was elsewhere, her brain not really focused.

"Hermione?" Ginny asked, "You coming?"

"What? Oh, yeah… I'm coming."

"Hermione, are you okay?" Harry asked, concerned. "You don't seem to be yourself. You're usually excited by this time…"

Hermione didn't respond at first. "I guess I'm just… overwhelmed. It was a long day. I just want to go to bed, really."

Ron looked at her with sympathy. "It was saving the ferret, wasn't it? It really had to be him that had to be saved, didn't it? And of course it just had to be you, too. Don't know why you didn't just let him die. I'm with Justin on this one," Ron added as an afterthought.

Hermione managed a wan smile as the carriages came to a halt at the front doors.

Everyone hopped out, and was just about to join in the queue to head inside when Professor McGonagall walked out, briskly.

"Miss Granger? Oh, there you are. Come with me please."

Harry, Ron and Ginny waved good-bye as Hermione was shepherded into the Headmistress' Office.

"Yes Professor?" she asked, after sitting down.

"I would like to talk about what happened on the train, if you don't mind."

Hermione didn't groan or let out any gasp of disbelief- she had seen this coming.

"I heard a lot of commotion in the halls, so Harry and I went to check it out," Hermione began. "We saw Justin on top of Malfoy beating the life out of him because, apparently, he had made fun of him for being a Muggleborn. Harry and I managed to pull him off, but Malfoy was unconscious."

"So…" McGonagall prompted.

"So, after much hesitation, I performed CPR on him. He woke up, Harry and I helped him into the Head's compartment and we sent you the owl," she finished.

"CPR?" the Professor questioned.

"It's a Muggle way of getting someone to breathe again. I figured, since it was a Muggle way of inflicting the wound- Justin didn't use a wand- a Muggle was of resuscitation would be appropriate."

McGonagall nodded curtly. "Very well. You may return to the feast after I tell you one last thing."

"Yes, Professor?" asked Hermione expectantly.

"Madam Pompfrey has told me that Mr. Malfoy will reside in the Hospital Wing until tomorrow. I would like you to tell him it was you who helped him tonight."

Hermione squeaked. Let Malfoy know she saved him? No way. "Are you sure about this Professor? I really highly doubt that Malfoy will care and…"

"You heard what I said, Miss Granger," said Professor McGonagall in a very final sort of manner. "He knows tomorrow. And know this- I will know if you did it or not." She walked out of the room, leaving Hermione in her disbelief.

She felt as though she had been punched in the stomach. Why did it have to be Malfoy? Why did it have to be her that saved him? She couldn't believe this was happening.

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**A/N: Hello people! Well, here was Part 1 of 3. This is my first non-first-person story, so please let me know if I'm doing a good job! Please! Leave reviews!**


	2. Told

**Disclaimer: I still don't own anything from Harry Potter. I mean, didn't JK Rowling come up with all that stuff first? Yeah. Thought so.**

**A/N: Well, here's Part 2! Enjoy!**

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After the initial shock had left her, Hermione stood up and walked out of the office and made her way to the Great Hall where the Sorting was about half-way done.

"Hamilton, Avery!" squeaked Professor Flitwick.

A tiny boy walked up to the Hat and placed it on his head. A few seconds later: "HUFFLEPUFF!" and Avery ran off to the table.

"Holsteins, Mallory!"

A girl with long, flowing red hair stepped up to the chair. "RAVENCLAW!" She stood up gracefully and walked over to her table.

"Oh, hey Hermione," said Harry, noticing her presence.

"Hi. We get any new Gryffindors yet?" she asked.

Harry nodded and pointed two seats to the left of Neville. "Kid called Stephen Amos."

"No one else though?"

Harry shook his head darkly. "Most have been going over to Slytherin this year for some reason. Recall how long it took for the Hat to decide on Malfoy?"

Hermione nodded, remembering that the Hat had hardly touched his head before it yelled out Slytherin. "Yeah. I remember that."

"Well, it's been pretty much the same way for about a quarter of the kids so far."

Hermione shrugged as "Kolas, Renee" became a Ravenclaw.

Ron groaned. "I hate sitting through this, it always takes forever."

"Come on, it's not that bad. I like watching it," said Ginny.

"Yeah, well. You're just weird," Ron said lamely, as "Lee, Jennifer" became a Gryffindor.

"You don't like watching the kids become Gryffindors, though? At least, a little?" Ginny asked, hopefully.

Ron shrugged. "It's not like I'm ever going to get to know them."

Ginny decided to stop trying and returned her attention to "O'Malley, Shawn" who became a Hufflepuff a few moments later.

After another ten minutes, in which Ron wouldn't stop complaining, "Worren, Matthew" became the final Gryffindor, and the last first-year to be sorted.

"Come on, McGonagall… come on… 'tuck in'… 'start eating'- _anything_!" Ron said desperately.

Professor McGonagall raised her hands, and the talking ceased gradually. "Now that the Sorting is completed—"

"SAY IT!" Ron whisper-shouted, with his hands already on his knife and fork, looking down at his plate.

"Ron, patience!" Hermione chided.

"You may start eating."

"THANK YOU!" Ron cried aloud, filling his plate with extreme speed.

Hermione shook her head as she filled her plate as well.

"So…" said Ron, swallowing too much food at once "What did McGonagall want?"

Hermione chose her words carefully. "Well… you know… she wanted to know what… what happened on the train," she said lightly.

"Malfoy?" he asked.

"Uh, yeah. She wanted to know how his injuries had been obtained… how serious I thought they were…" She really didn't want to talk about this right now.

Ron obviously didn't catch her drift. "You tell her it was you that performed ACR… or whatever it is…"

"CPR, Ronald, and yes. I did inform her of that."

"And…?" Ron prompted.

"And she said that was a smart choice. Please, I'm hungry and wish to eat, not answer questions," said Hermione resolutely, and putting a forkful of food into her mouth.

Ron shrugged and continued to wolf down his food.

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At break, Hermione managed to get Harry and Ron to leave her alone, by saying she needed to work on something S.P.E.W related in library. However, she had no intention of going to the library at all. She needed to just tell Malfoy and get it over with, or it would haunt her forever.

"Madam Pompfrey?" she whispered quietly when she reached the Hospital Wing. For some reason, the Wing felt like the library- you shouldn't yell, just whisper.

"Yes, dear?" asked Pompfrey, from around the corner. "Ah, Miss Granger. Mr. Malfoy is in the bed over there."

"Is he asleep?" Hermione asked, half hoping it were true. "I mean, I don't want to disturb him or anything…"

"No, no. He's quite awake. Over there, Miss Granger," Madam Pompfrey said briskly, with a wave of her hand.

"Thank you," said Hermione grimly.

She walked over to his bed, dread growing with each step. Finally she reached the bed. "Hi Malfoy," she said shortly.

"What are you doing here, Mudblood?" he asked, disgustedly.

Hermione set her jaw. She should have just let him suffer. "I came to tell you something."

"Then say it and get out of my sight."

"You know what happened to you?" asked Hermione.

"Finch-Fletchy beat the crap outta me, beat him back though."

"Do you know that he had you knocked unconscious?" she asked, still playing around with ideas of how to tell him in her head.

"Yeah. Socked me right in the head. Granger, out with what you want to say already!"

"I performed CPR on you, afterwards, and that's why you're here, insulting me," said Hermione, attempting at a guilt factor, which obviously had no effect.

"What in the name of Merlin is CPR?" Malfoy asked distastefully.

"It's a Muggle form of resuscitation."

"And why are you telling me this? Do you mean to tell me that you saved my life?" asked Malfoy.

"I'm telling you because Professor McGonagall ordered me to. And yes, because you asked, I did save your life."

Malfoy didn't say anything. Hermione assumed he probably wasn't going to either, so she turned to leave, figuring her job was done.

"Granger wait!" he called.

She stopped, wondering what he wanted now. She spun around to face him. "What?"

"Uh… this is going to sound strange… but… thanks. For saving me… I guess. Wouldn't have done the same for you, and that's a fact."

"I'm Head Girl. I had no choice," she said bitterly.

"Look, forget it's me you saved. Can you accept my gratitude?" he asked, almost pleadingly.

Hermione was startled. Where was this new Malfoy coming from? She hadn't expected this. "Sure," she said.

"Look, I know you hate my guts, but you can't totally hate me- you saved me, remember?"

Hermione froze. She hadn't thought of it like that. Her heart pounding, she looked him straight in the eyes. "Maybe you're right. But what's it to you? Why are you suddenly being so nice to me?" She was almost defensive.

"I'm looking at the person who gave me a second chance at life. What other reason do I need?" he replied, in a very unlike Slytherin way.

"That answer sounded like something Harry would say. Stop it! I- I'm not allowed to like you! You are allowed to like me!" She was nearly shouting now. She was scared. Did she really like him? Of course not. He was a Slytherin… the person who had made her life a living hell when they came face to face. She _was not_ allowed to have feelings for this bit of scum.

"Maybe it was. Granger, you do have to admit. If you really hated me, you would have let me die. Think about it," he said.

Hermione didn't say anything more. She turned on her heel and ran out of the Hospital Wing.

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**A/N: Okay, before you complain that "I went too fast" think about this- it's only three chapters long and I don't want it to be any longer than that. Besides, everyone seems to like the sweet Malfoy better than the evil Malfoy, or at least, that's what I've seen. Next chapter will be the last part. Reviews are graciously accepted!**


	3. Loved

**Disclaimer: I still don't own anything. Why do you keep rubbing it in my face? Jeez. Not very nice, are we?**

**A/N: Well, here's the final installment. Part 3. Enjoy, and review please! Bit of a recap to start out with.**

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"_I'm looking at the person who gave me a second chance at life. What other reason do I need?" he replied, in a very unlike Slytherin way. _

"_That answer sounded like something Harry would say. Stop it! I- I'm not allowed to like you! You are allowed to like me!" She was nearly shouting now. She was scared. Did she really like him? Of course not. He was a Slytherin… the person who had made her life a living hell when they came face to face. She was not allowed to have feelings for this bit of scum._

"_Maybe it was. Granger, you do have to admit. If you really hated me, you would have let me die. Think about it," he said. _

_Hermione didn't say anything more. She turned on her heel and ran out of the Hospital Wing._

She ran all the way back to Gryffindor Tower, and up to her bed, not even bothering to say hello to Harry and Ron.

She lay on her bed and stared up at the ceiling for a long time. Did she really have feelings for Malfoy?

"_Of course you don't_," she thought to herself. "_You had to save his life or it would have looked bad on your Head Girl record…_"

No matter how many times she said it to herself –out loud or in her head- there was still this awful sinking feeling in her stomach that wouldn't go away.

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At dinner that evening, that feeling was still in Hermione's stomach. She couldn't eat anything, and she was having trouble carrying on a conversation. Her mind was a million miles away.

"Hermione! HERMIONE!" She heard Harry yell from a long way off.

"Huh? What? Oh, yeah Harry?" she asked. She slammed back into the real world.

"You haven't been eating or talking- what's up?" he asked, concerned.

"It's nothing."

"No, it's not. Hermione- spill."

"I… I had a talk with Malfoy today," she found herself saying. At this point, Hermione knew she couldn't hide her mysterious errand any longer.

Harry frowned. "Why?"

Hermione snorted. "You don't know why? You can't remember that I saved his life on the train a mere two nights ago?"

"Oh… yeah… McGonagall make you tell?" he asked, apologetically.

She nodded, her chin resting in her hand. "Yeah. First day back."

"How'd he take it?" Harry asked.

Hermione didn't know what to say. Should she spill all her feelings right here, right now? She felt a slight urge to get up and run, but wasn't sure if she wanted to satisfy it.

"Hermione…" Harry said again. "How did he take it?"

Hermione still didn't say anything. All of this confusion was really beginning to take a toll on her spirits, and she felt like she was going to cry. "Um…" she said.

"Well? Hermione, what's wrong?"

"I- I can't tell you. I just CAN'T!" Hermione yelled. She stood up and ran out the Great Hall, tears splashing down her face.

"What's with her?" Ron asked, looking up from his Transfiguration notes, from which he had been studying.

Harry sighed. "I don't know."

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Hermione didn't know where she was going, she was just running. Eventually, she ended up outside, by the lake.

"I can't take this anymore! Do I really like him? Do I?" she asked her reflection in the water. "I can't! I- I'm a _Gryffindor_! And he's just a- a foul Slytherin! I didn't save him because I had feelings for him! I saved him because I had to! I would have taken the blame if I didn't!"

Yelling hopelessly at her reflection seemed to help, as she calmed down a little.

"Are you sure that's why?" said a familiar voice behind her.

Hermione whirled around, and found herself facing the very last person she wanted to see- Malfoy.

"Go away," she said lamely. "I don't want to be near you right now."

"I heard what you were telling Potter- and your reflection. I don't think that's really what you believe. I think you're just telling yourself that because you don't want to admit you have feelings for me," said Malfoy, walking closer to her.

"I don't have feelings for you," she said, her voice cracking.

"You don't believe that. You know you don't. Come out of denial, Hermione."

Hermione felt as though the wind were knocked out of her. Did Malfoy really just use her first name? She felt slightly dizzy and sat down. Malfoy followed suit, and sat down next to her.

"Go away. Please. I can't be seen with you!" she cried.

"Hermione, stop this. You get no where in life if you're in denial."

"Stop calling me Hermione! We're enemies! We always have been- and we always will be!" said Hermione, trying desperately to believe what she was saying.

"You don't believe that. Hermione… come on. Everyone will get used to the idea eventually."

Hermione was shaking. "STOP IT!" she yelled, starting to cry again. "I-I HATE YOU!"

"Stop what? Speaking the truth? Come here, Hermione," he said, arms outstretched.

Hermione couldn't move. She was shaking too hard. Her body didn't resist as he pulled her into a hug.

"No… stop. Please…" she said weakly.

Malfoy helped her stand up. "Are you sure you want to stay this way?" he asked. "In denial?"

She shook her head. "N-no… but… Malfoy-"

"Draco… please," he interrupted. "Call me Draco."

"Draco… us being together… it- it just won't work."

"As I said before, they'll have to get used to the idea sometime. Trust me," he said fervently.

Hermione sniffled. "How can you be so sure?"

Draco wiped away a small tear that trickled down her cheek. "It's what I'm here for- some solidity. You obviously don't have enough of that right now."

She didn't say anything; she just looked into his trusting eyes.

"You trust me, don't you?" he asked.

She nodded.

He leaned in and kissed her softly, and she knew that this was her only choice.

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**A/N: Okay everybody, all together now- "Awwwww…" I hoped you liked my story. Reviews would be gratefully accepted!**


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